KISEKI
by Tracy Smith
Summary: All right, it's OVER! I've explained myself, as promised. Six characters, in love. . .it's just not right!
1. Pandora

Ki-Se-Ki

Chapter 1: Pandora

Author's notes:  
Have I cracked? First, I'm doing two fics at once. Second, the genre of this fic seems to contain the word "Romance". . .even though I've stated time and again that I hate couplings. I do make an exception for Valentine's Day, and that's what this fic is for.

Reviewers from my Christmas fic get. . .fattening food in the second fic I'm writing (probably because I think that one is better. . .and it's going to be longer than this one).

I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters. The rest of the disclaimer will come at the END of this fic. I DO own the idea for this story (unless someone's beaten me to it. . .in which case, say something in a review, and give me the title of the story, and I'll consider taking this story down).

It's not much, but it's a beginning. . .

-

Malik sat by himself in a corner. He looked out the window, with a wistful expression on his face. Ishizu looked at her younger brother with worry. A silent Malik meant something was going on in his head. He'd been like this for several days. She took a deep breath and walked up to him.

"Brother, what's on your mind?" Ishizu asked mildly. He sighed.

"It's Pandora," he said.

"Pan. . .dora?" she asked, hesitantly. Pandora had been one of the many unfortunate Rare Hunters to get a one-way trip to the Shadow Realm.

"Pandora. It feels like an eternity since we've met." Ishizu took a step back. She never thought her brother would obssess over anyone like that!

"I'll find you soon," he said, his voice filled with dreaminess. Ishizu ran from the room. Her brother couldn't be. . .

It was time to take drastic action. She sought out someone who she could talk to. Someone who might understand boys better than she did. Now if she could only find Tea Gardner. . .

-

Author's notes, yet again:

Pandora is better known as Arkana in America.

"Ki-Se-Ki" translates to "miracle". Am I referring to the miracle of love? The miracle that I'm writing about love? Or the miracle that I'm writing something that looks a heck of a lot like yaoi?

You'll just have to read on! 


	2. Maria

Ki-Se-Ki

Chapter 2: Maria

Author's notes:

Chelsea. . .your wish may or may not be granted. Remember the summary! But hey. . .have some milk chocolate coins anyway!

This fic will have about 7 chapters. The rest of the disclaimers will occur in the last chapter or so.

I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters.

Upward!  
-

Ishizu found Tea, predictably enough, in a coffee shop. Tea waved and motioned for Ishizu to take a seat.

"Has Malik been peeping at me through my eyes again?" Tea asked cheerily. Ishizu knew that Malik hadn't removed everything from Tea's mind. On a few occasions, he had watched Tea do "various things", much to Ishizu's horror and shame. She'd apologized to Tea on every occasion.

"It's not that. He hasn't been interested in that 'hobby' of his for several days," Ishizu stated. Tea blinked. Ishizu's normally serious face had somehow become more serious.

"Malik keeps talking about Pandora. I know Pandora had been a Rare Hunter, but I never thought Malik thought of him like that," the older woman rambled. Tea blinked again. From her experiences with Ishizu's (deranged) younger brother, he had seemed far too interested in girls for her tastes.

"Malik never seemed that type to me. However, Yugi's been acting strange, too," Tea commented. Ishizu blinked. Wasn't Yugi a bit. . .young for such things?

"Yugi's been constantly talking about some girl named Maria. He can't get over how pure and uplifting she is," Tea continued. A small smile formed on Ishizu's normally grim face. At least Tea didn't have to worry about whether or not Yugi was interested in other men.

"I thought you would be able to understand boys better than me, but it looks like we're both completely confused," Ishizu said. Tea nodded.

"I think it's time we had a conversation with a neutral party. One who doesn't seem to be in love." Tea nodded again in agreement.

"Maybe Ryou would be of some help. He can understand the male way of thinking, and he's nice enough to share it," Tea said. With a conspiratory smile, the two went off in search of an unfortunate blue/white-haired boy.

-

Author's notes, post-production:

It's gotta be the lack of sleep that forcing me to write these things!

Review. . .and flame with a reason. 


	3. Estella

Ki-Se-Ki

Chapter 3: Estella

Author's notes:

Hmm. . .no reviews. I guess I'm far better at writing straight-up humor. Well. . .you, dear reader, if you exist, will simply be stuck with this fic, as I like to finish what I start.

Here I go again. Let chaos reign!

I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters. There.

-

Ryou sat outside of his house, looking at the sky. He waved when he saw Tea, and offered a shy greeting to Ishizu, who he didn't know very well.

"Say, Ryou, can we talk to you for a bit?" Tea asked. Ryou, having nothing better to do, nodded.

"Malik and Yugi are acting strange. They're both obssessing over other people, and it's really disturbing," Tea said, without pause.

The Millenium Ring suddenly appeard. In a flash of light, Ryou had been replaced by Bakura.

"Malik and Yugi? Aren't they too young for that?" the deranged tomb robber asked. Tea and Ishizu jumped. It wasn't like the tomb robber to speak so. . .nicely about anyone.

"But. . .we just wanted to know-" Ishizu wasn't allowed to finish her sentence.

"Those two children couldn't begin to comprehend what love is about! I know what love is, and it's Estella!" Ishizu turned an extremely interesting shade of pale. Tea tried her best not to laugh. It explained why Bakura wasn't cursing them to the Shadow Realm.

"Estella. . .so fearless. . .so heartless. . ." The tomb robber held a dreamy look in his eyes. It was by far the most disturbing thing Tea had seen in her life.

"Uh. . .I gotta get home!" the two females exclaimed at the same time. They ran off in opposite directions.

The tomb robber smiled and relinquished control of the body back to Ryou. Ryou blinked. Where did his guests go? The tomb robber's thoughts were nowhere to be found.

With a shrug, Ryou went back to watching the clouds go by.

-

Author's notes, again:

It's the tomb robber's turn to go nuts! What could he have been thinking?

The next two chapters happen simultaneously. Reviews are welcome; flames are too, provided that you don't whine. 


	4. Daisuke

Ki-Se-Ki

Chapter 4: Daisuke

Author's notes:

Thank you animeaddict99! I'm crazy because I'm also a full-time college student with a part-time job. Therefore. . .I should be studying right now! Ah, well. . .here's a caramel truffle.

Wait, a guy's name! Who's falling this time?

I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters.

Onward!

-

Halfway through her mad dash home, Tea bumped into Serenity. Her eyes were somewhat glazed over.

"Hey Serenity. . .are you okay?" Tea asked, somewhat worried.

"I'm more okay than you could ever imagine!" Joey's little sister said, with a big grin. At least Serenity wasn't sick.

"What kind of answer is that?" Tea asked, playfully. Serenity's smile grew bigger.

"It's Daisuke! I've seen the most gorgeous man alive!" Tea swallowed hard. Serenity was lovesick. Wasn't she a bit young for that?

"Daisuke? What's so special about him?" Was everyone around Tea madly in love with someone else?

"He's absolutely gorgeous, and he moves like a summer breeze, and he always looks so serious, but it just looks sooooo cute!" Tea backed up a few meters. Serenity's voice could shatter glass, if she put her mind to it. Joey was probably worried sick.

Serenity shot Tea a smile and skipped off. Tea's stomach flip-flopped. This was NOT normal.

-

Author's notes:

So it looks like Serenity's gone bonkers over someone named Daisuke.

Keep reading, I promise a full explanation by the end of Chapter 7. 


	5. Sakura

Ki-Se-Ki

Chapter 5: Sakura

Author's notes:

In order to make the Valentine's Day deadline (or so), I'm going to have to throw this chapter in, as well!

Serenity's side was a bit overboard. Ishizu's gonna find something far more disturbing. . .

I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters.

So there.

-

Ishizu raised an eyebrow when she saw Joey Wheeler running at full tilt towards her. Not far behind him was Mokuba Kaiba.

"Should I even ask?" she said evenly.

"Ishizu, plese, you've gotta help us!" Mokuba used the classic I'm-an-innocent-little-brother voice, which always won Ishizu over.

"What's the matter?" she asked, more gently.

"It's Kaiba! He's being nice to me!" Joey sputtered out. Ishizu nearly fell over. Seto Kaiba was being nice to someone that wasn't his little brother?

"Aniki keeps talking about. . .oh, hi, Aniki!" Mokuba said. Seto Kaiba ambled down the sidewalk.

"Hi Joey," Seto said, without his usual sneering tone. Ishizu did fall over. Seto helped her up.

"Thank you. . .but why?" Ishizu asked, more puzzled than anything.

"Sakura has reminded me that there are other things in life besides myself. I look forward to the day when I am deemed worthy by Sakura. What a beautiful name." The other three people on the sidewalk exchanged looks. Seto Kaiba's expression was serene, almost happy.

The awkward moment was broken by a figure, running at full tilt. Ishizu blinked. She'd never seen that person before! He stopped to breathe. Whoever it was had an extraordinary mane of brown hair. The young man looked up at her. Ishizu felt a slight flush come to her cheeks. He had an adorable boyish face, with soft blue eyes and a ready smile. She quickly shook the thought from her head. He didn't look much older than her younger brother.

"Hey, Varon, what's the hurry?" Joey asked, with his usual zest. At least some things had the decency to stay the same.

"It's worse than I could have ever thought!" the former Doom Warrior exclaimed.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure everything will turn out all right," Kaiba said, and put a comforting hand on Varon's shoulder. Varon let off a few unintelligible words and took a quick step backward.

"What happened to the world I used to live in?" Varon asked rhetorically. Ishizu silently wondered the same thing. What ELSE could possibly go wrong?

-

Author's notes:

Yep, there's NO way I'd write a Valentine's Day fic without mentioning the Doom Warriors (this story takes place shortly after the Doom Saga).

As if Kaiba's actions weren't strange enough. . .what WAS Varon referring to, anyway?

Keep reading! 


	6. Lucy

Ki-Se-Ki

Chapter 6: Lucy

Author's notes:

It's the second-to-the-last chapter, and things don't seem to be getting any clearer.

I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters.

-

Varon led the small group to a small park. Ishizu waved to Tea, then stared at the figure to her left. He was tall, lean, and wore the strangest shade of red on his head. His sunglasses obscured his eyes, but the expression on his face when he saw them coming told her that he had been expecting them.

"You found help too?" Varon asked. The redhead nodded.

"It was the best I could do, even if the short one won't shut up." Joey's expression turned for the worse.

"That's my SISTER you're talking about, you fluff bag!" Ishizu had to agree with Joey. The redhead wore a Malik-type shirt, jeans, and a trenchcoat. He didn't exactly look like the type to ask a woman out on a date.

"What're you gonna do about it, doggy boy?" the redhead asked threateningly. Kaiba stepped in the middle.

"Amelda, there's no need to call Joey a dog. Please apologize." The redhead took his shades off in amazement. He darted around Kaiba and Joey, and ran smack into Ishizu, who didn't have time to dodge.

"I'm sorry about that, miss. Say," Amelda said, as he took her hands, "are you free for dinner tonight?" His gray eyes had softened considerably. Ishizu was saved from answering by Varon, who had delivered a swift kick to Amelda's knee.

"Try hitting on someone your own age, you pervert," Varon said flatly. Ishizu took a closer look at Amelda. He looked to be about the same age as Varon.

"I'm sorry, but you remind me far too much of my younger brother," Ishizu said. Varon wore a smirk. Amelda looked a bit heartbroken.

Tea suddenly backed up. A very large man had sauntered over. He looked like he could easily take all of their wallets, and leave without so much as a bruise. His startling blue eyes held nothing but contentment. Tea and Ishizu looked at each other, concern on both of their faces.

"Who is it this time?" Tea asked. The large man blinked. It looked like he was trying to think of an answer. Typical blonde (A/N: No, really, blondes are cool!)

"Raphael over there hasn't been talking about anything else except for Lucy," Varon said, exasperation touching his voice.

"What is it about Lucy?" Joey asked with his usual sarcasm.

"Lucy's very sad, yet always seems so happy," Raphael commented. Mokuba sighed.

"Aren't there enough crazy people in this world?" he asked, giving a pointed look to Amelda, who ignored it.

"Does Lucy keep evading you?" Kaiba asked. The blonde nodded dejectedly.

"Keep trying, and things will eventually work out," the CEO of Kaiba Corporation said, as if he were giving out brotherly advice. Raphael sighed.

"It's going to be a long time before I get Lucy, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically.

"Not as long as it's going to take for me to get Daisuke," Serenity said, with a sniffle.

"Or Sakura," Kaiba finished.

Ishizu had had enough. At least she somewhat understood her younger brother. She wasn't here to listen to the musings of everyone else! Without a word, she left for home, with Tea hot on her heels.

-

Author's notes:

I promise a full explanation in the final chapter! 


	7. Love or Truth

Ki-Se-Ki 

Chapter 7: Love or Truth

Author's notes:

This is it. The explanations that I've promised.

Thank you for the review, estella! Here's some chocolate-covered strawberries! This chapter will explain everything.

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters.

The rest of the disclaimers (like the disclaimer about this chapter heading) are at the END of this chapter.

Read on!

-

Two days had passed, and Malik had asked her to meet him at the arcade. She had met Tea at the coffee shop, by chance. Together, they walked towards the arcade.

As they passed Ryou's house, they heard piano music. More out of curiosity than anything, they stayed put. The piece sounded like a waltz of some sort. The melody sounded Spanish. Tea listened with a small smile on her face. Ishizu found the song to be pleasant. It beat the rock music Malik sometimes played on a stereo that he'd saved up for.

After the song was over, Tea knocked on Ryou's door. She probably wanted to know the title of the song.

"Hello there. How are you doing?" Tea jumped back. It was the tomb robber.

"Ah. . .hello. . ." she stammered out. The tomb robber gave her a simple smile.

"How did you like Estella?" he asked. Tea and Ishizu looked at each other.

"Estella? Where?" Ishizu asked. Maybe if she saw that mystery girl. . .

The tomb robber smiled mysteriously and hummed merrily before closing the door. It was the same song they'd just heard. Could it be. . .?

The two walked to the arcade, lost in their own thoughts. On their way in, they passed Yugi, who wore a BIG grin.

"Hey, what's up?" Tea asked mildly. Yugi's grin grew.

"Maria is all mine!" he said, a flush coming to his cheeks. Before they could ask for an explanation, he skipped off.

Extremely peppy music came from a machine in the far corner. Varon's hair was visible near the machine. Ishizu walked over, Tea in tow. Raphael was playing something. Varon and Amelda wore looks of horror on their faces.

"I've never, in all my life, seen anyone come close to beating that song!" Amelda said, wonder in his voice.

The song finished. Raphael turned to his companions. "So. . .how did you like it?" he asked.

"You mean to tell me that this was all about a SONG!" Varon half-screamed. Amelda chuckled.

"I couldn't resist," Amelda said, with a giggle. Varon looked ready to wipe the smirk off of his companion's face with a blow torch.

"Lucy's really pretty. But tell me. . .what language is that song in?" Tea asked. Her eyes had brightened considerably.

"It seems to be in very broken English," Raphael replied. Ishizu shot Tea a questioning look.

"He came from France," Tea explained. Ishizu rolled her eyes. The three left, but not before Raphael blew Ishizu a kiss.

"You didn't tell me that. . .he was interested in women," Ishizu said, all color draining out of her voice.

"It's probably the aftereffects of the song," Tea muttered to herself. She glanced off in another direction.

"Hey, my dance game is free! Wanna watch?" Ishizu knew that it would mean her death if she refused. With a small sigh, she turned.

"Hold the music!" an all-too-familiar voice boomed. Kaiba ran across the arcade. Tea looked at the song that she had stopped on. She groaned.

"If I time this right. . ." The CEO started up another game. He selected something which Ishizu couldn't see, then nodded to Tea. She selected her song.

The two machines played the exact same song, with the exact same timing. Kaiba's key presses matched the music exactly, while Tea's dancing kept the beat. In moments, a burst of wild laughter came from Kaiba's direction.

"Border bonus!" he exclaimed. Ishizu took a look at Tea's result screen, then Kaiba's. Kaiba had been playing approximately double the notes Tea had. A pixellated letter "C" showed on Kaiba's screen. Tea had scored an "A".

"Now for Sakura Another!" Kaiba said, with a maniacal laugh. Ishizu sighed. This couldn't be happening.

Serenity popped up near Ishizu. "Oh, please, Kaiba, can you play Daisuke?" Ishizu did a perfect facefault. So did Tea. Something on her screen changed. She looked at the title of the song she was about to dance to. She screamed.

"This song is horrid!" she yelled, even as she racked up an insane combo.

Horrible synthesizer music caught Ishizu's attention. A man in black danced on the screen. Serenity's eyes held nothing but adoration.

"What a hunk," she said, dreamily. Ishizu had to disagree. He looked like he wouldn't be interested in Serenity. . .or any other female, for that matter.

Kaiba had done significantly better, scoring an "A". Tea, despite her protests, had scored an "A", too. Ishizu got an idea. The idea died when she saw that the "Game Over" screen on Kaiba's machine. Tea had chosen her third song. It was a guitar piece. It sounded like Malik music.

At the end of the song, a siren sounded. The words "Try Extra Stage!" flashed on Tea's screen, much to Ishizu's surprise. Tea smiled evilly and let the machine choose the song for her.

An extremely dark chuckle came from Tea. The song's title was impossible to discern. A grinning clown looked back at Ishizu. The music from the dance game turned surprisingly gothic. It sounded like movie music.

"Hey Ishizu, sorry I'm late." Malik stood, with the Millenium Rod handy. Though he didn't use its powers, the Millenium Rod made for a useful whacking tool.

Malik walked over to the game Kaiba had played. Ishizu buried her head in her hands. This could NOT be happening!

In moments, a beautiful voice sang something. Tea, who had finished her game, looked at Malik in awe. Ishizu stared. It was a song that sung of beauty and loneliness. The piano and the synthesizer took turns in creating the lovely melody. Ishizu had to shake herself out of the peace she had felt once the song had concluded. Malik looked at her, a smile on his face.

"I knew you'd like pandora, too," he said. Ishizu could only nod. Tea's expression was unreadable. An idea struck Ishizu.

"Little bro, is there a song called Maria on that game?" she asked. In moments, Malik had found Maria. Tea shook herself awake, and stared.

_There's nothing to fear  
Your broken heart will mend  
A new love will come to you  
Shining through_

Ishizu could get to like Maria. Tea's expression matched Ishizu's mindset.

_Believe in your dreams  
'Cause you can make them come true  
Just let yourself go_

Something disturbed Ishizu's peripheral vision. Amelda had returned, alone. He wore an expression of reverence on his face.

_Believe in your dreams  
The world is waiting for you  
It's all up to you  
You've got to believe  
It will be okay  
Another day_

"I'd forgotten how cheerful Maria can be," the redhead explained. Tea chuckled.

Ishizu left with Malik, that final song stuck in her head. Perhaps one day she would understand it. Perhaps. . .

_Love will take you there  
Take you there_

-

Author's notes:

Now. . .time for the long-awaited disclaimers!

All songs are from Beatmania IIDX (which I do NOT own). I'll put down which mix these songs debuted on.

pandora is owned by dj TAKA and Tomomi (the singer). First seen on 10th Style. If Malik had been paying more attention to the video, he would have gotten a good look at Tomomi.

Maria (I Believe. . .) is owned by Naoki and Paula Terry (the singer). Made its first appearance on 9th Style, with some serious. . ."issues". . . The song lyrics (in italics) are from this song. It's a really cheerful song.

Estella is owned by Osamu Kubota. The lines Bakura was referring to occur during the video for Estella. This song didn't go much past its debut, 5th Style, probably because its 7Key notes were fairly easy, and it has no Another. It seems to be one of Osamu Kubota's least popular songs, though I don't know why.

Daisuke is owned by YCo. The person Serenity is drooling over is named Daisuke, and he's the dancer in the video. The song and video first debuted on 10th Style; Daisuke's dancing technically appeared first on 7th Style (he was the one responsible for Meg's dancing in Last Message). Daisuke made his first appearance on 9th Style (in the video of Your Body). Daisuke Another is nuts.

Sakura is owned by Naoki, and made its first appearance as the Extra Stage on 8th Style. It also made an appearance on DDR EXTREME. Sakura Another is extremely hard. It will be a LONG time before Seto Kaiba can pass it. . .

Lucy is owned by ELE Block, and made its first appearance on 10th Style. The song is peppy, but the lyrics are horribly depressing. Lucy is also moderatly hard, but not as bad as Sakura.

Ki-Se-Ki is owned by BeForU. It appears on Pop'n Music. It was later edited for IIDX, and appears on IIDX RED (11th Style).

Love Or Truth (full title is L.O.T (Love Or Truth)) is owned by m-flo. It was one of the early IIDX songs, and has not made an appearance after 3rd Style.

Last but not least, the four songs Tea chose were Sakura, xenon (owned by Mr. T. . .and it's an awesome song), Jet World (owned by Mutsuhiko Izumi), and A (owned by dj TAKA).

In terms of difficulty (7Key), I think Sakura is the hardest, followed by Lucy, then Daisuke, then Maria, then pandora, then Estella. Just a bit of trivia in case anyone's interested in playing Beatmania IIDX.

A few of the songs which I forgot to add were Destiny (another Naoki and Paula Terry Song, first appeared on 7th Style), Red Nikita (Osamu Kubota, first appeared on 8th Style), and Pink Rose (Kiyommi Seiya, a KeyboardMania song). I probably missed a few more as well.

Sorry for worrying everyone! I STILL don't support couplings! Happy Valentine's Day, and please don't decorate my house with toilet paper!


End file.
